Joel Reardon, Hollywood film producer, writer and director, has
narrated yet another novel episode, providing a panoramic glimpse of Divinity that
is Baba. Joel's wife Diana, herself a Sai devotee, car­ried a good number of
Baba's pictures with her on returning home from her second trip to Puttaparthi.
She displayed these pictures in their house with full-love and devotion for
Bhagavan Baba. This brought about a vociferous protest from her husband, who even
went to the extent of referring to Baba as "THIS CHARACTER".

Joel, decided to come to India and expose what_ he called
"THIS CHARACTER". He had planned and accordingly told his friends
Gould and S. J., be­fore leaving U.S.A., "I will ask him for a rainbow
over India, something which only God can give. _ am not a great believer in God
and I certainly do not believe in the
Voodoo type of Indian Characters.

On reaching Puttaparthi and after settling in a room there, they
went atop the hillock for a cigarette, smoking is an absolute taboo in the Prasanthi
Nilayam. As soon as they reached the top, Joel witnessed a magnificent
spectacle in utter bewilderment. He saw a bright rainbow starting from just
behind Diana and ascending vertically with amazing rapidity. In split seconds
the rainbow reached a great height. Joel could not believe what he saw and
shouted, "Diana, look over your right shoulder." She turned and on

And on seeing the rainbowexclaimed
‘My God’.

At this stage Diana informed Pamela, a girl from Bangalore, who
was also sitting there, "Joel was going to ask Baba, if He is God, give
him a rainbow. And look, Baba gave Joel what he wanted even be­fore he could
express it."

Joel's eyes were filled with tears when he said, "Look the
sun is shining, the sky is cloudless and very clear. How can that be ?" He
was wondering

whether "THIS CHARACTER" (as he called Baba) had heard
his words right across from U. S. A. Concurrently the rainbow disappeared from below
upwards.

That evening as Joel sat for Baba's darshan. Baba came straight to
him and putting His Hand on Joel's shoulder said in a gentle voice, "How
are you ? Character!" Joel was stunned. "Character!" the very
word he had often used to ridicule Baba.

Next morning the family had an interview in which Baba asked Joel,
~'Well, Character! how did you like the rainbow ?" Then addressing the
group Baba told them that Joel wanted only a rainbow. This clearly signifies
that the creation of a rainbow was after all insignificant manifestation of the
Divine Powers.

Joel was impressed by the rainbow which only God could create.
Despite that, he was planning in his mind to test Baba further by asking him to
pro­duce an out of the season fruit there in the interview room. Knowing these
thoughts concomitantly Baba waved His Hand before Joel and produced a FIG.

In their group was another American couple who were planning to go
back as the wife had not got cured of her ailment despite having stayed at
Puttaparthi for a reasonably long time. Baba turned towards the husband and
spoke, "Why go home ? Am I not your Mother, Father and a Doctor ?” Then Baba
gave half of the fig to her and asked her to eatit. She did so and was cured of a long-standing ail­ment. The other
half of the fig was given by Baba to Joel's little daughter Christiana who in
turn got cured of her illness.

Later on ,Joel learnt that the fig was totally unseasonal and not
even grown in that part of the country. Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba often
says,

I shall give you what you want so that you may want what I have
come to give you."

Mentioning about this episode in Sanathana Sarathi. Joel has
concluded, "Thank you for the seed. It is up to me, to prove worthy. The
seed requires the water of faith. I must cherish the seed (God) with love and
nurture it with faith."